A Short Lived Romance
by Ein Kampf kann eine Lebenszeit
Summary: Marcus knew Didyme was special when he first laid eyes on her, but what will happen when that love gets taken away from him? Third person, Marcus/Didyme, Rated T for language. Please read and review.
1. A Chance Meeting

"Only you, my dear," she said lovingly in his ear, drawing a smile on his face that only she could ever manage to create. No one in his life, before or after his friend changed him indefinitely, could ever manage to create one of those smiles upon his soft, yet rigid features.

She found him beautiful, no matter what other's may have thought of him. His nose was slightly deformed, but his red eyes were gentle and fierce at the same time. His lips were just the perfect size for her, and his white, almost translucent skin contrasted perfectly with his raven black hair. She had heard humans speaking of how different and unusual he looked, and she only found herself smiling internally, loving how he was hers, and only hers.

"As with you, my love," he replied, just as lovingly, looking into his mate's freshly red eyes. Her seemingly always-present smile always brought joy to his heart like nothing else could. He was positive that were she to ever die, he would to, if not physically, then mentally or emotionally.

They stayed as they were for hours. Their unspoken words were apparent to anyone in the outside word. The love and adoration they had for each other was almost palpable. Then again, with Didyme's gift, that was hardly saying anything.

Though she made others love her unconditionally, she herself had never fallen in love before Marcus. He made her the happiest she had ever felt. And she did the same for him. But for her, it was such a surreal thing. She knew love, it was the one thing she was positive of her entire life. She knew how other people reacted to it, and she knew she could have used that information in this relationship, but she didn't need to. She was herself, entirely and absolutely.

He was always worrying about how to act. He didn't know if what he was doing would make her happy, or if he was doing something wrong. She constantly told him not to worry, that it made her feel uneasy. Their relationship was something so rich, and so unique that one couldn't deny it.

If one was uneasy or unsure about something, the other was just as much so. They cared for each other so equally, and looking at them together, no one, even the most unknown people, could say they didn't love each other. Every moment they were together, and when they were apart, they could barely stand it.

* * *

Marcus was on the council of the newly formed group Aro, Didyme's sister, had formed, along with another vampire named Caius. They were planning, or rather discussing the planning of a hopefully one day large group of fellow vampires that would rule, so to speak, their world of secret sangui-vores.

They would ensure the unspoken rule that those of their kind didn't show their own existence to humans, and if that ever happened, if the vampire race was exposed, they would exterminate the violators of that rule. They would have other rules and laws to abide by of course, but they were only discussing the former at this time.

They would also ensure that their gifts would not go to waste. Aro especially wanted this to turn into an empire, as such, he knew that nothing could get in his way of this "royal hierarchy." He knew that he would need everyone he trusted, even his sister, though he despised her.

When he had created her he had hoped for some ultimate power to come from her, but instead she was blessed with the gift to make others love _her_. He didn't need people to love _her,_ he needed people to love him, else ways his plan wouldn't, no, no, couldn't work.

But he was hoping for a way to make the victims of her power love _him. _Many would have classified him as selfish, unruly, or even power hungry. To an outsiders view, this was completely true, but to him, he was just doing what he thought was best for his kind.

* * *

Over the years, Aro tried to make his plan work. And over the years, he failed. He witnessed her fall in love with his friend, and he knew he could do nothing to stop it. He watched helplessly as they proclaimed their love for each other in the most sacred of ways. He watched hopelessly as they feel deeper and more irrevocably in love with each other. And he hated every moment of it.

She had always used her talent to have intercourse with her prey before finishing them for her dinner, lunch, or breakfast, which ever it was that day. Aro had been proud of her for this; he had loved her for that. It was then that he swore to never let her use her power for anything else but feeding, and for his own deeds.

He decided to let her go on her own for a while, like a father would do to his only son when he got married. He had enough faith that she would over-use her gift, see all men, even vampires, as only objects, and never fall in love. All that changed when she got home.

He was meeting with Caius and Marcus about his proposed idea, and she walked in just as they were finishing up. He looked up, a light smile coming to his face, and he stood up, opening his arms. She hurried over, snagging a look at the man on her brother's right.

Aro could feel his sister exulting her power, but only towards Caius, the weaker of the two. He knew this, but how could his sister know this? She had only just arrived. Was there more to her power that she was not informing him of? Or could he just be paranoid? He didn't know the honest answer, but he treated her just the same. He told her to wait in the other room until he was done. She did so with a last sweeping glance to the man at Aro's right.

Caius was looking at Aro in awe, it seemed. It was as if he had never seen a woman before in his life. Aro chuckled to himself quietly.

"Do not dwell on your new-found feelings for her, my friend. It is her power, as mine is with thoughts, as Marcus' is with relationships. She is a seducer first and foremost, and she is my sister," Aro said, that small, devious smile never leaving his face. Marcus was silent, and shied away from Aro's touch, but Aro thought nothing of it.

Caius nodded, and they continued with their meeting.

**This is something new I'm working on, I know it seems scattered, but this is going to be just a few chapters. **


	2. A Deepened Love

At first he would admire her from afar, watching as her dark brown hair cascaded down her back, with not so much as a gentle weave disturbing its flowing radiance. He would watch as she sat herself down in the garden outside the castle they all now inhibited in some small, rural town in the country of Italy. She treated the flowers; from the vibrant red that reminded Marcus of blood, to the deep, lush purple she seemed to favor; with love, and it seemed to Marcus to be respect. She did the same with the many different types of knee-high grasses filling the courtyard.

He had spoken to Aro of her power, and he did not know why he wasn't affected by it. He had his theory that his own power would not allow hers to take effect, but he did not even stop to consider the fact that she saw him as more than just a man she could use to her own advantages and uses.

She knew he would watch her from the study. She was used to men watching her, and she had come to expect it, but she knew her power had no sway over him. She could not figure out the reason why to save her life. She often pondered it while sitting amongst her flowers. The red ones reminded her of him, and she knew why. Every time she would see him in the same room, his blood red eyes, the same color as the flower, would be looking at her with mild curiosity.

Of course, he always averted his gaze when he saw her eyes fixate on him. Aro did not know of Marcus' growing feelings for his sister, and he wanted to keep it that way.

And so he watched as she sat in her garden, picking only the most beautiful flowers. She would put them in empty vases and scatter them about the first floor. He appreciated the way they would all wilt away. He found it symbolic, and thought that maybe she was tired of her power, and how she constantly threw men away after they had served her purpose.

She left the flowers around the rooms because she wanted to bring beauty to the monotonous walls and colorless rugs on the first floor. She didn't give them water because they didn't need it. They would wilt away before the day was out, and by then she would have already had new flowers out.

* * *

Days passed, then weeks, then months, and Marcus was sure his feelings from afar just grew. He could not help feeling for her, he even pitied her when she would sit out in her garden alone. And that was when he decided to join her. He was watching her, as he usually did, when he got up and walked outside. He was walking straight for her, and she noticed this.

When he could finally speak to her, face to face, in normal tones, he introduced himself. As did she. They shook hands. Aro witnessed this in its entirety, and he did not think anything of it. He did not even stop to consider anything could happen to them because, in his mind, no one could love anyone but him.

* * *

Years passed and Marcus and Didyme became inseparable. It started out as Marcus sitting with her daily in the garden when he did not have meetings with Aro, but soon they had begun to go on walks and it was only then that Aro thought that something more could be going on.

He would be overjoyed if Marcus could find a mate. He, after all, had one, as did Caius. Marcus was the only one without one, and Aro felt for him, slightly. Though he would be overjoyed if Marcus were to find a mate, he did not want that mate to be his sister. He knew, though, that he could not control his sister, as she was, after all, more powerful and more persuasive than he.

He had tried confronting her about it, but he had been too late. She informed him that she loved Marcus, and not even death could tear them apart. Aro had stood where he was after she left for a long while, not knowing what to do. He knew that vampires performed better with everything when they were accompanied by a mate, but he did not know how to deal with the fact that his friend of many years had chosen his sister to be his mate.

Aro knew something had to be done, but he did not know what, or how to go about doing whatever he decided to do. It haunted him at night, and he hated it so. Day after day he would think of ways to make this relationship fail. He could think of nothing, and Sulpicia was tiring of it quickly. Night after night she would beg him to stop, to just let them be.

He finally agreed to it, and stopped thinking of what he could possibly do to stop this union. He had not found anything that could have worked, and so he would just let them be, happy, as it were.

Besides Aro, everyone was happy that Marcus had found a mate he cared so much for. A smile seemed to be on his face so long as Didyme was near him. They were often congratulated in the beginning stages of their relationship, and every time they got praise, Didyme would look up to Marcus with only love and admiration, a look he would return easily and without hesitation.

* * *

When Marcus and Didyme progressed to the next step in their relationship, a short thirty-two years after they first started speaking, Aro began thinking of ways to end the relationship yet again. They had proposed that they move away, to be on their own, as they would truly love to be. This would mean that Marcus would not be able to partake in Aro's group of higher vampires. In order for his plan to work flawlessly, Marcus had to be present. Everything he had planned counted on Marcus' attendance.

So he entertained the idea. Aro would let them move away, do what they pleased. He would let them think that he did not mind, that he even encouraged it. He knew he would get what he wanted, he just needed more people to help him.

Marcus and Didyme had always wanted to see the world. She had always been interested in what was beyond the walls of her old home, and her new one. So they traveled around Europe, seeing the great sights of the times, and dining from only the most accomplished of people they would run across.

Many years they spent as such, and they were the happiest they had ever been. Their love, if possible, had only grown since they had left Aro and his company, which had also grown since Marcus and Didyme left.

Now in his army, as he described it, were more useful powers. He had come across someone who could make any one person or vampire remain loyal to you, no matter what circumstances there were. He also acquired a set of twins, which he treated as if they were his own children. He had found them, being burnt on the stake for being accused of being witches, and he had saved them. The female he liked better than the male, but he could use both their powers equally.

With these new additions, along with others, he knew he could finally do what he planned to do all those years ago when he first objected to the romance of his sister and his best friend. He had been waiting patiently for his opening, and now he finally had it, and he would not waste it.

So he waited for a letter, knowing his sister would find somewhere she like well enough to settle down there. She never liked moving around too much, so it would not be long.

He was right. Not a month after he decided to do what he could surely be killed for were it to leak into the right minds, he received a letter, with an intense description of the surround country where she and Marcus now lived. She had addressed the letter: "To my Dearest Brother," and ended it with: "With all the love in the world."

**Please review. Four of you have this as a favorite, and one on alert, I'd really appreciate reviews because, well, I don't know if I'm doing this story well or not. And it's really short as it is, so feedback would be very welcome. :)**


	3. A Welcomed Visitor

She had wanted him to visit her and her mate for some time now, but they had not found a place they both found suitable until just recently. So she wrote him, in hopes that he would know where to find them, should he decide to visit them out of love.

While they were awaiting his presence, they enjoyed the cries of the Children of the Night. Unlike Aro, they found the sounds soothing, and found it simply enticing that those Children let them be without trouble. They had found a quaint house that had belonged to people before, but the Children had taken care of those occupants before Marcus and Didyme arrived.

Didyme was extremely happy that she had finally found somewhere she liked well enough to settle down with, and she was absolutely overjoyed that she had found someone to settle down with. That was what made her more than overjoyed. She believed that there was no word that could accurately describe her happiness.

Marcus felt the same way. He did worry about Aro, and what he might think of this relationship, but he had faith that his oldest friend would leave him be. After all, Aro had said constantly that Marcus could do what ever he pleased at any time, that he had no need for Marcus at all, though his company was much enjoyable.

Three years passed since Didyme had sent her letter, telling her dearest and most beloved brother of her residence. She knew he would visit her, but she had not been expecting something so soon. She and Marcus were lying in bed together, fully clothed, as they did most days. They just loved being in each other's company and loved the physical contact that said to each of them, "Yes, I am here, I am real, and I would not rather be with anyone else."

They heard a knock on the door, so Didyme kissed Marcus on her lips lightly and ran off to answer the door to see who had brought them out of their tender embrace. She opened the door with the now ever present smile that was on her face, which, if possible, only increased in size and happiness when she saw her most anxiously awaited brother, who, being polite, smiled back.

"Aro," she said, lightly and with love only a sister could have for her brother in her voice. Aro had not heard her voice in many years, and loved how it had not changed from his memory.

"Didyme," he replied just as lovingly and sweetly. She invited him in, which he accepted graciously and they spoke for some time before Marcus came to see who had interrupted them.

Marcus immediately found it strange that Aro had not brought his mate, as she and Didyme were very close when they had all lived in that small house in Italy, but he said nothing of it. He saw how happy it made Didyme that her brother had come to visit, and he was not going to ruin that happiness for her.

* * *

Aro said he was expecting to stay for a while, though he did not specify, as he never did. He always thought that, by announcing how long you will stay, the mood was changed immediately to a somber one instead of a light hearted one. Nevertheless, he knew he had a mission to complete on this journey, and he had already formed a story for Marcus, and he hoped desperately that it would be accepted without question, as he knew it would. Any grief stricken person would be willing to accept any story thrown at them.

And so he waited. He waited until Marcus went out to feed without Didyme. He waited for his dearest sisters' eyes to grow black with hunger. He waited until Marcus told her to go hunting, and all the while he had not fed himself. He said he would accompany her on her meal, and he did.

They left Marcus at that house that Aro so despised, and Didyme expressed her love for him in words, something Aro thought was not possible for his sister, of all vampires, to do. But he waited patiently by the door for her to be ready, and when she walked through that small passage for the last time, he smiled at his trusted friend, saying that they would both be back soon, and he closed the door while Marcus and Didyme shared one last, loving look.

* * *

"Only you, my dear," she said lovingly in his ear, drawing a smile on his face that only she could ever manage to create. No one in his life, before or after his friend changed him indefinitely, could ever manage to create one of those smiles upon his soft, yet rigid features.

She found him beautiful, no matter what other's may have thought of him. His nose was slightly deformed, but his red eyes were gentle and fierce at the same time. His lips were just the perfect size for her, and his white, almost translucent skin contrasted perfectly with his raven black hair. She had heard humans speaking of how different and unusual he looked, and she only found herself smiling internally, loving how he was hers, and only hers.

"As with you, my love," he responded just as lovingly, looking into his mates almost completely black eyes. How he loved her, how he never thought it would be possible for someone as magnificent as her to love him in return, and how he loved that she did love him as much as he loved her. He was positive that were she to ever die, he would to, if not physically, then mentally or emotionally.

* * *

He waited for their return. He knew it would take maybe two days, but he was not expecting it to be a half a day.

Aro came bursting into the house, horror and pain written on his face with blood. Marcus asked him what was wrong, and where his love, Aro's sister, was, and why she was not with him.

Aro retold the story as to how they had been tracking four humans who were in the woods, and a Child of the Night had come up from behind and had drug her away. He had followed the two, but it was to no avail. He said that it had happened so fast, so brutishly, so heartlessly, that he could do nothing to stop it.

As Aro was speaking of this horror, Marcus felt something die inside of him. It was as if, upon hearing of this, half of his own self had died, and he knew that it was true. He turned away from Aro slowly, going to the room where he knew her scent would still be lingering.

After watching him leave, Aro looked out the open door, and nodded to someone who was hiding in the trees. A pale lady walked up to the door. They had a silent and quick conversation, and Aro went to the room he knew Marcus was in. He saw his friend kneeling on the ground, a vacant and utterly bored look on his face, all horror and pain gone.

He put a hand on his friends shoulder, and Marcus looked up at him. Aro told him that he was needed in Italy, and said that Marcus should come with him, because there it would be easier to deal with his loss. Marcus nodded, the vacant and bored look remaining on his face.

* * *

Marcus had believed Aro. But when they got to the house they both knew so well, the pain only increased. The flowers were in full bloom. For months, Marcus picked the flowers and put them in vases and set them out around that mansion. It was only when the flowers were not tended to in the winter that he stopped, and, seemingly, so did all life inside himself.

He was a walking body, never speaking, never interacting, but Aro had a complete arm now, and he was going to use that for all he wanted.

End.

**Please review. I have one more really really short chapter followed by a rather lengthy note. So please, if you read this, review. **


	4. A New Relationship

Many years had passed since Marcus lost the desire for his undead life. His power constantly reminded him of what had happened. He still swore that he would achieve the worst sort of revenge possible to the ones who had done that to his love. He never found out Aro had been behind it all.

All the bonds he had seen over the years had been weak, things that would never last. Things that fell apart. Not since looking at his brothers with their mates for the first time had he seen a bond so unbreakable.

Until an extremely disturbed vampire and an unseemly human walked in to his sights. His arm had been around her, and she had her arm hanging on his back. He would whisper things she should or should not do when in the presence of the higher members of the Volturi, and he cared for her so much.

It was not just the way he looked at her with love, respect, and fear, but how he could be so close to her was also outstanding. That was the sight that the members saw, along with Aro and Caius. They saw nothing more.

Marcus did. He looked at them with keen interest. Not even Aro and his mate and Caius and his mate had this kind of bond. Then when they wanted to kill Edward, the human, his love, and said to kill her. Yes, Marcus knew that this love could not be ruined by anything. Not even death, for then one would surely join the other.

He made his way to his brother and extended his hand. Aro took it without question. Marcus' thoughts told Aro all he needed to know about this unlikely pairing.

"Marcus sees relationships. He's surprised by the intensity of ours," Edward had explained to the two who wouldn't know.

"It takes quite a bit to surprise Marcus, I can assure you."

**As I said, really short. Now, I don't know if I've already explained this, but I tried to keep it old fashioned, ish, and i hope it worked. I know there wasn't too much to anyone's relationships, but I have this theory that everyone in Twilight, all those relationships, can't really be explained through words. **

**I also know that these are fictional characters, but still. Stephenie Meyer created them with backgrounds, and I put my idea of their backgrounds out there, and I feel their bonds were greater than words can describe. So if it seems rushed that's why. Also, I hate Aro for what he did, and Marcus will always be my home boy, but I also love Aro because he's always so happy and outgoing, even when he's ordering a death warrent for someone. It makes me giggle. **

**So, as always, please review.**


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